I am a political activist who has worked and lived in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This blog chronicles my time in Palestine and also provides news and analysis about Palestine and the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

as you will be aware, on May 15, Israeli Occupation Forces, shot dead 17-year-old Muhammad Audah Abu al-Thahir and
15-year-old Nadim Siyam Nuwarah, with live ammunition in the
chest during a Nakba demonstration outside Ofer Prison.

In the wake of their death, video footage shoot by CCTVs mounted on the building next to where they were killed, has come to light show they were shot during a lull in the protests and posed no immediate or direct threat to Israeli Occupation Forces. The footage was released by Defence of Children International- Palestine and Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem. Despite not having requested copies of the footage for examination, Israeli Occupation Forces immediately denied the boys were killed by the IOF, instead claiming the footage was either fabricated or that the boys were shot by Palestinians.

In the last few days, however, more footage has come to light showing the Israeli military shooting directly at the boys at the time they were killed. The footage shot by an American news team from CNN and was released as part of a news report on the shootings. CNN reporter, Ivan Watson goes on to say in the report: "“At the precise moment when Nuwara was shot,CNN’s camera
was rolling, filming an Israeli soldier shooting his rifle at the
Palestinians and then demonstrators carrying the mortally wounded
teenager to the ambulance.”

Despite the new footage from CNN, Israel, has continued to deny that Israel Occupation Forces used live ammunition and killed the boys.

I have included below the CNN report on teh shooting of al-Thahir and Nuwarah. You can also view the CCTV footage released by Defence of Children International-Palestine and B'Tselem by clicking on links below to my earlier posts. Also is included is a link to my article in Red Flag on the shooting.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Dear friends,please find below my lastest article published by Red Flag on the killing of two teenage Palestinian boys during the Nakba protests outside Ofer Prison. Video has since revealed that both boys were killed when there was no clashes taking place and were murdered in cold blood.

My article was written before the video evidence came to light, so please see my earlier post on the video evidence by clicking here.in solidarity, Kim

|Relatives of Nadim Seeam Nuwarah mourn in the hospital before his
funeral procession in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 16, 2014. Photo by Activestills

Two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead by
Israeli occupation forces on Thursday 15 May, as they participated in a
protest rally marking the 66th anniversary of the Nakba (the
“catastrophe”) and in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners
outside Ofer Prison in the Occupied West Bank.The teenagers, 17-year-old Muhammad Audah Abu al-Thahir and
15-year-old Nadim Siyam Nuwarah, were shot with live ammunition in the
chest. Twenty other protesters were also injured.In response to the deaths, Amnesty International released a statement
saying: “Israeli forces have repeatedly resorted to extreme violence to
respond to Palestinian protests against Israel’s occupation,
discriminatory policies, confiscation of land and construction of
unlawful settlements.”In February, Amnesty released a report, Trigger Happy: Israel’s excessive use of force in the West Bank,
which documented the repeated use of excessive force and unlawful
killing of dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children.The report noted that in 2013, Israel had killed 22 Palestinian
civilians. Al-Thahir and Nuwarah’s deaths bring the number of
Palestinians killed by Israeli Occupation Forces since July 2013 to more
than 60.Thousands of Palestinians joined a funeral march and protest for the
slain youths. Israeli occupation forces opened fire on the funeral,
injuring 12 people. Eleven were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets,
while one was hit with a high velocity teargas grenade.The annual Nakba protest commemorates the 1948 destruction and
dispossession of Palestinian society by Zionist terror militias, who
would later form the misnamed Israeli Defence Forces.Nearly 1 million Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their
homeland; more than 500 Palestinian villages and towns were depopulated
and destroyed.More than 750,000 Palestinians fled to neighbouring Arab countries,
while more than 150,000 Palestinians became internally displaced
refugees inside the newly created Israeli state.In a 2004 interview with the Israeli Haaretz newspaper,
Israeli historian Benny Morris explained: “In the months of April-May
1948, units of the [Zionist] Haganah were given operational orders that
stated explicitly that they were to uproot the villagers, expel them and
destroy the villages themselves.“That was the situation. That is what Zionism faced. A Jewish state
would not have come into being without the uprooting of 700,000
Palestinians. Therefore it was necessary to uproot them. There was no
choice but to expel that population.”The protest also stood in solidarity with 125 Palestinian political
prisoners held without trial under Israel’s “Administrative Detention”
regime. They have been on hunger strike for three weeks.According to Palestinian prisoner rights organisation Addameer, the
hunger strike, which began on 24 April, “can be traced back to May 2012
when an agreement was reached between the Israeli Prison Service and
representatives of the prisoners, which brought an end to a mass hunger
strike involving approximately 2,000 political prisoners.“As part of this agreement Israel agreed to limit its use of
administrative detention to only exceptional circumstances. However,
since then Israel has reneged on the agreement and has continued to use
administrative detention on a systematic basis, leaving the detainees
with little choice but to launch a fresh strike.”

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Dear friends,please find below the shocking footage of the cold blooded murder of two Palestinian teenagers during the Nakba demonstration outside Ofer Prison. Muhammad Abu Thahr (15 years) and Nadim Nuwara (17 years) were both shot in the chest. The video footage below shows that there was a lull in the clashes between the Israeli Occupation Forces and Palestinian youth and the the Israeli military forces were in no danger. The footage reveals that both boys were killed as they were simply walking in near a building.

The video footage is very graphic and very upsetting. Now that the footage has come to light, the Israeli Occupation Forces are claiming that it is fabricated and/or the two youth were shot by Palestinians. According to Haaretz: "Israeli military investigators said, however, the shots may have been fired by the Palestinian side, rather than by Israeli troops, and senior Israeli officials said a video of the shootings that has that sparked an outcry was likely forged"

These two contradictory claims are a standard and regular defence offered up by the Israeli miltary to such incidents and is one which should not be believed automatically. Already, Zionists and Israeli apologists are claiming the video is the work of "Pallywood". For those who aren't aware of this term, it is used by Zionists and Israel apologists to claim that any human rights abuses by Israel document on film by either Palestinians or Palestine supporters or even by the media is fabricated. It is a racist term, used to try and discredit Palestinian claims and to justify and sanctify Israel's human rights abuses and atrocities against Palestinians.The video was obtained by Defence of Children International (Palestine), who told Electronic Intifada, in part: (you can read the full EI article by clicking here):

The CCTV footage was captured by cameras mounted on the building where the incident took place, which is owned by Fakher Zayed.

“The images captured on video show unlawful killings where neither child presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting,” said Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCI-Palestine. “These acts by Israeli soldiers may amount to war crimes, and the Israeli authorities must conduct serious, impartial, and thorough investigations to hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”

Ramallah, May 17, 2014—Israeli forces killed two Palestinian teens during clashes on Thursday outside the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu Daher, 16, were both fatally shot in the chest with live ammunition near Ofer military prison in the West Bank city of Beitunia. Both boys were transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah where they were later pronounced dead.

The boys were participating in a demonstration near Ofer military prison to mark Nakba Day and express solidarity with hunger striking prisoners currently held in administrative detention by Israel. The demonstration reportedly began peacefully and then turned violent when Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian youths, according to The New York Times. “Israeli forces continue to use excessive force and recklessly fire live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets on unarmed protesters, including children, killing them with impunity,” said Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCI-Palestine. “While Israel claims to open investigations into such incidents, they are not transparent or independent, and seldom result in a soldier being held accountable.”

Mohammad Abdullah Hussein al-Azzeh, 15, sustained a gunshot wound when he was hit with live ammunition in the back and left lung while taking part in the same demonstration. He is currently in stable condition at the Ramallah Medical Complex.

Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip held marches on May 15 to commemorate the Nabka or “catastrophe”, which marks the forced displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian homeland in 1948.

The use of live ammunition by soldiers on unarmed Palestinian civilians, including children, has been a recent area of concern to human rights groups. In February, Amnesty International released a report finding that the Israeli army uses reckless force throughout the West Bank.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that the killings were under investigation and claimed that only rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and tear gas were used by Israeli forces at the time of the incident, not live ammunition, according to Haaretz.

The deaths on Thursday raise the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in 2014 to four, according to data collected by DCI-Palestine. Over 1,400 Palestinian children have been killed as a result of Israeli military and settler presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2000.

In March, Israeli forces shot and killed Yousef al-Shawamrah, 14, with live ammunition in the southern West Bank near his village of Deir al-Asal al-Fawqa. He was shot while looking for thistle in an area of land belonging to the village that now sits on the other side of Israel’s separation barrier. As he and two friends crossed through an open area, soldiers fired live ammunition toward the boys, hitting Yousef in the hip and back.

In December 2013, Wajih Wajdi al-Ramahi, 15, from Jalazoun refugee camp north of the West Bank city of Ramallah was fatally shot with live ammunition fired by an Israeli soldier. Documenting the killing, DCI-Palestine found that Wajih had been shot in the back from a distance of 150-200 meters (about 500 feet).

The Israeli military’s own regulations dictate that live ammunition must be used “only under circumstances of real mortal danger,” but the regulations are not enforced and frequently ignored by Israeli soldiers, according to research by DCI-Palestine and a recent report by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Dear friends,please find below some moving images of the 1948 Nakba. In 1948, Zionist terror militias (which would later merge to form the Israeli Defense Forces) forcibly expelled nearly 1 million Palestinians from their homes, property and homeland, depopulating and destroying more than 500 Palestinian villages and towns. More than 750,000 Palestinians fled, int the wake of Zionist terror, to neighbouring Arab countries, while approximately 150,000 became internally displace refugees in the newly established Zionist state. In 2008 on the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, I wrote a post called "Falling From Heaven: the ethnic cleansing of Palestine", which can be read here.Today, however, the Nakba is not over. It continues as we speak. In Palestine, on the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, the Israeli state continues its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, continuing to build and expand its illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank. In Gaza, Israel's blockade and siege continues with millions of Palestinians forced to live in an open air prison. Inside the Zionist state, Israel is seeking to ethnic cleanse up more than 70,000 Palestinian bedouin from their homes via the Prawer Plan. Today as we remember Nakba, we must also recommit to the struggle for Palestinian human rights, self-determination and justice. Support and get active in the Palestinian initiated Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, join your local Palestine solidarity group, raise awareness about the Palestinian struggle in your church, union, school and community group. Write letters to your newspaper and politicians. Screen movies and do public awareness stalls, stage protests and take to the streets. Make your voices heard, stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just struggle. Demand a free Palestine, today.In solidarity, Kim

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Dear friends,On May 6, more than 15,000 Palestinians and their supporters marked the 17th annual March of Return in the destroyed village of Lubya in the Galilee. In 1948, more than 2,700 Palestinians were expelled from Lubya by Zionist forces. In its place, Israel has created the Golani Industrial
Area and established the towns of Givat Avni and Lavi (a hebrewised version
of the village’s original name).

The Palestinian Nakba marks the destruction of Palestinian society in 1948 by Zionist forces. Nearly 1 million Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes and lands. More than 750,000 Palestinians fled to neighbouring Arab countries, while 150,000 Palestinians became internally displaced refugees inside the newly created Israel state. Please find below a round up of photos from the march of return. I have also included a report from Maan News on the march.

You can also read Dan Cohen's report on Mondoweiss about the March by clicking here. The Alternative Information Centre also has a report (click here)In solidarity, Kim***

Palestinian refugees being expelled from Lubya on 18/7/1948.

Photo via Tweet Palestine

March of Return in Lubya. Photo by Activestills.

Photo by Activestills.

Photo by Activestills

Israeli police rip Palestinian flag from cars during the March of Return

Photo by Activestills

Zionists stage picket yelling "Death to the Arabs" at 15,000 Palestinians marking the March of Return in Lubya. Photo by Dan Cohen via Mondoweiss.

Israeli group Zochrot worked with Palestinians to display photos of the residents expelled from Lubya in 1948 in the destroyed village. Photo by Mahmood Jrere

Palestinian residents of Israel hold up their national flag as they march for the right of return for refugees expelled during the 1948 war that followed the creation of the state of Israel, near Tiberias on May 6, 2014 (AFP Ahmad Gharabli)

LUBYA (AFP) -- Some 10,000
Palestinians rallied in northern Israel on Tuesday to demand the right
of return for refugees expelled after the creation of the Israeli state
in 1948.

The demonstration took place in the Israeli village of Lavi, which was built on the ruins of the Palestinian village of Lubya.

Lubya
was home to 2,726 Palestinians until 1948, when Jewish mobs captured
the village during the conflict that led to Israel's creation.

Demonstrators
waved Palestinian flags and read out the names of 530 Palestinian
villages that were forcibly displaced 66 years ago, before observing a
minute's silence in their memory.

"A demonstration organized by
Israeli Arab associations gathered about 10,000 people and two youths
were arrested for violence against the police," Israeli police
spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

Groups demanding the right of return
for Palestinians expelled from their homes in 1948 organized the event
under the slogan: "Your 'independence' day is our 'Nakba'," Arabic for
catastrophe.

"There will be no peace, no stability and no
reconciliation without the refugees' right of return," lawmaker Mohammad
Barakei told AFP.

More than 760,000 Palestinians -- estimated
today to number 4.8 million with their descendants -- fled or were
driven from their homes in 1948.

Palestinians mark Nakba day on
May 15, but Palestinian citizens of Israel hold demonstrations on
Israeli independence day, which fell on Tuesday this year.

The Palestinian population of Israel is made up of around 1.3 million people, some 20 percent of Israel's population.

Most of Lubya's original inhabitants settled in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the suburbs of Damascus.

In
Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, police dispersed a demonstration by
Jewish extremists, who marched through the streets of the Old City
chanting anti-Arab slogans, the police spokeswoman said.

Police arrested two of the demonstrators who tried to force their way past a checkpoint, she added.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Dear friends,as many of you will be aware, the people of the village of Nabi Saleh are very dear to my heart. I attended the very first demonstrations against Israel's land occupation when they recommenced in the village in 2009 and was fortunate enough to be welcomed into the homes and lives of many of the residents of the village, who I now call my friends.The people of Nabi Saleh have long been steadfast in their opposition to the Israel's occupation and apartheid practices, however, over the past four years they have had to endure some of the most brutal repression I have seen in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Every Friday, the village continues its defiant stance against the occupation. In response, Israel's occupation forces violently attack the unarmed demonstrations with tear gas, stun grenades, skunk (a chemical weapon made of foul smelling liquid sprayed from water cannons), rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition.Two of the leaders of the village - Bilal Tamimi and Naji Tamimi - were jailed for more than year, while many other members of the village have been and continue to be arrested and jailed for weeks and months on end. Amongst those arrested and detained are numerous children from the village, some as young as 9 years old. Two of young men from the village, Mustafa Tamimi and Rashdi Tamimi died at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, who fired teargas cannisters and rubber coated steel bullets directly at them killing them.Political activist and Israeli conscientious objector Yuval Auron was jailed in 2009 and spent a month and a half in a military prison after refusing to enlist to the army. Yuval has been participating in the demonstrations in Nabi Saleh for the last few years and recently made a short video about the village.The film features the children of Nabi Saleh speaking about the occupation and how they cope with the constant state of violence around them, as they see their parents being arrested and family members being killed, and if and when they see some hope in their situation.Yuval's film is now a finalist in the Euromed Audiovisual competition. Please watch, vote for and share his film with your networks. The film is very simple and is very moving, it deserves to be shared widely.TO VOTE FOR THE FILM. Please click: Sometimes I'm afraid, Sometimes I hit by Yuval Auron (this link will redirect you to the Euromed Audiovisual competition website)

As I was not able to embedded the film from the competition website, I have embedded a youtube version of the video. You can watch the video either at the above link or on youtube (but if you would like to vote and support the film, please use the above link) You can also support the people of Nabi Saleh and keep up to date with news from the village by joining the Nabi Saleh Solidarity page on Facebook (click here) or by following the Nabi Saleh Solidarity blog (click here)in solidarity, Kim

Nakba Keys

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About Me

I am an activist who, at different times over several years, has lived and worked as a international volunteer in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This blog is an account of my time in Palestine and also carries original news, comment and analysis (as well as reprints) on Palestine. Live from Occupied Palestine campaigns for an end to Israeli apartheid and the brutal illegal occupation of the Palestinian people. You are welcome to reprint any material from this blog authored by Kim, however, please acknowledge the author and the blog website